Charles Iv Willis Sells 27,500 Shares of Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) Stock

Willis Lease Finance Corporation (NASDAQ:WLFC) Chairman Charles Iv Willis sold 27,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.49, for a total transaction of $1,580,975.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 2,584,943 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $148,608,373.07. This represents a 1.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Willis Lease Finance Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of Willis Lease Finance stock opened at $54.18 on Friday. Willis Lease Finance Corporation has a 1-year low of $38.00 and a 1-year high of $81.54. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $70.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a PE ratio of 13.59 and a beta of 0.74.

Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The transportation company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $194.02 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $175.00 million. Willis Lease Finance had a return on equity of 14.11% and a net margin of 11.80%.

Willis Lease Finance Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be paid a $0.133 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. This represents a $0.53 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Willis Lease Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.28%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Willis Lease Finance

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WLFC. Denali Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 780.3% during the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 33,452 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,537,000 after purchasing an additional 29,652 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance in the fourth quarter worth about $1,462,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,153 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $699,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Willis Lease Finance by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Four Tree Island Advisory LLC now owns 102,259 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $13,870,000 after buying an additional 3,793 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Lease Finance in the fourth quarter worth about $133,000. 93.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WLFC has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group set a $71.00 target price on shares of Willis Lease Finance in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Willis Lease Finance from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Willis Lease Finance from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.00.

About Willis Lease Finance

Willis Lease Finance Corporation (NASDAQ: WLFC) is an independent global provider of aircraft engine leasing, trading and aftermarket services. Founded in 1991 and headquartered in the United States, the company specializes in offering short- and long-term operating leases for jet engines and auxiliary power units. Through its broad engine portfolio, Willis Lease Finance supports a wide range of commercial aircraft across various operators, including major airlines, regional carriers and other leasing companies.

In addition to leasing solutions, Willis Lease Finance offers comprehensive engine trading and asset management services.